GIVEN that FC Copenhagen and Cork City were two possible rivals, it would have been understandable had there been one or two groans when Everton were pitted against Dinamo Bucharest in the UEFA Cup.

As the players were still coming to terms with being knocked out of the Champions League, facing up to a trip to the ramshackle, 15,000 capacity Stefan cel Mare stadium in Romania instead of heading to Milan or Madrid for some must have felt like they had lost a winning lottery ticket.

Leon Osman, however, is only too happy to point out that was not the case at all. While the Champions League is the competition which everyone wants to be in, a place in the UEFA Cup is certainly no booby prize.

The squad worked tirelessly last season to qualify for Europe, proving the doubters wrong in the process and that is why David Moyes' men are determined to make the most of each task that is put in front of them, no matter how far they have to travel.

"Out of all the English teams in the UEFA Cup, I think we got the toughest draw," said Osman,, who had no hesitation in extending his stay at Everton during the summer. "But that happens and we have got to knuckle down now over the two legs and make sure that we get the right result.

"We worked so hard last year as a team and on a individual level, I got a reward for it. I'm delighted to be here with everything that is going on."

Osman has no complaints about when or where Everton play in Europe, and you are unlikely to hear him grumbling about the speed at which fixtures have come up during the opening weeks of the season.

With Champions League qualifiers and Premiership matches to contend with, there has been little chance to catch breath but the 24-year-old is revelling in the hectic pace. As he rightly suggests, the more games Everton play will show they are enjoying more and more success.

"That's what we played so hard for last season," Osman continued.. "It was to be involved in the big games and we have had a few of them to start the season off.

"Results haven't always gone our way but we will definitely be trying to put that right in the next couple of weeks.

"If you want to be playing up near the top of the league and challenging for things like we want to, you are going to be playing big games every week. That's just the way it is and it's how we like it."

The belief and assurance in Osman's voice reflects the mood that sweeps around the club's Bellefield training retreat at present.

Finishing fourth in the Premiership last season has done wonders for the confidence of the squad and they are comfortable with their status as one of the top clubs in the league.

Nevertheless, the challenge - as manager David Moyes has stressed - is to make sure Everton consolidate the progress they have made over the past 12 months and use this campaign to build for the future.

Because now the players and supporters have had a taste of what it is like to rub shoulders with the best in Europe, they want it to become a regular occurrence

"If you had said at the start of last season that we would have been coming into this year playing in Europe, we would have been delighted," said Osman, whose ability to pop up with vital goals has made him a valuable member of Everton's first team pool.

"It's a big step for the club. But hopefully it's not just a one off and we can show that it is going to be a stepping stone rather than anything else.

"We want to progress from here. The fans were unbelievable in Villarreal and the atmosphere was something else. We want more of that in the future.

"It seemed that we had more fans in their stadium than they did. If we progress that could become a regular thing."